1 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الطَّبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ يَقُولُ: الْعِلْمُ لَا يُبَاعُ -يَعْنِي الْعِلْمَ بِالدِّينِ- وَمَنْ بَاعَهُ فَقَدِ اشْتَرَى بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا، قُلْتُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، وَاللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ لَيَبِيعُونَهُ، ثُمَّ يَمْنَعُونَ النَّاسَ مِنْ نَشْرِهِ حِرْصًا عَلَى الرِّبْحِ! فَقَالَ: أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ ﴿اشْتَرَوْا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ سَاءَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾[1].
Translation of the saying:
Abdullah ibn Habib al-Tabari informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: “Knowledge is not sold -i.e., knowledge of religion-, and whoever sells it has sold God’s signs for a small price.” I said: “May I be sacrificed for you! I swear to God, they sell it and then prevent people from publishing it out of a desire for making a profit.” So he said: “They have sold God’s signs for a small price and then prevented (people) from His way. Evil indeed is what they have done.”
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ الدَّامْغَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ مِنْ أَبْغَضِ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ إِلَيْهِ عَبْدًا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ عِلْمًا فَأَرَادَ بِهِ مَنْفَعَةَ الدُّنْيَا، فَمَنَعَهُ مِنَ الْفُقَرَاءِ وَعَرَضَهُ عَلَى الْأَغْنِيَاءِ، لِيَشْتَرِيَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَيَصُدَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ، ﴿أُولَئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾[2].
Translation of the saying:
Ali ibn Isma‘il al-Damghani informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: “Indeed, one of the most hateful servants of God with Him is one to whom God has given knowledge, then he has sought the benefit of the world through it, so he has kept it from the poor and offered it to the rich in order to sell God’s signs for a small price and prevent from His way! ‘They eat nothing but fire into their bellies, and God will neither speak to them nor purify them on the Day of Judgment, and there is a painful punishment for them.’”
3 . أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْهَرَوِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يَبِيعُ كِتَابًا أَوْ شَيْئًا آخَرَ لَا يُوجَدُ عِنْدَ غَيْرِهِ، فَيَشْتَرِطُ عَلَى الْمُشْتَرِي أَنْ لَا يَبِيعَهُ وَلَا يَهَبَهُ أَحَدًا، لِيَرْجِعَ النَّاسُ إِلَيْهِ فَيَشْتَرُوا مِنْهُ، قَالَ: لَمْ يَبِعْهُ إِذًا، قُلْتُ: أَلَيْسَ قَدْ جَاءَ: «الْمُسْلِمُونَ عِنْدَ شُرُوطِهِمْ»؟ قَالَ: بَتَرْتَ الْحَدِيثَ، إِنَّمَا جَاءَ: «الْمُسْلِمُونَ عِنْدَ شُرُوطِهِمْ، إِلَّا شَرْطًا حَرَّمَ حَلَالًا أَوْ أَحَلَّ حَرَامًا»، ثُمَّ قَالَ: مَنِ اشْتَرَى شَيْئًا اشْتَرَى بَيْعَهُ وَهِبَتَهُ.
Translation of the saying:
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Harawi informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about a man who sells a book or something else that no one else has, then he stipulates that the buyer should neither sell it nor give it to anyone so that people will go to him and buy it from him. He said: “Then he has not sold it.” I said: “Has it not been said: ‘Muslims are bound by their conditions’?” He said: “You cut the Hadith. It has been said: ‘Muslims are bound by their conditions, except for conditions that make unlawful what is lawful or make lawful what is unlawful.’” Then he said: “Whoever buys something also buys (the possibility of) selling it and giving it away.”
4 . أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدصَادِقٍ الْإِصْفَهَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يَكُونُ لَهُ عِلْمٌ، فَيَكْتُبُ كِتَابًا، أَلَهُ أَنْ يَبِيعَهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَيَرْبَحَ عَلَيْهِمْ؟ قَالَ: لَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُ ذَلِكَ، إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ كِتَابًا يَنْفَعُهُمْ فِي دُنْيَاهُمْ، قُلْتُ: أَلَهُ أَنْ يَشْتَرِطَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ يَكْتُمُوهُ، فَلَا يَبِيعُوهُ وَلَا يَهَبُوهُ، لِيَزْدَادَ بِذَلِكَ رِبْحًا، إِنْ كَانَ كِتَابًا يَنْفَعُهُمْ فِي دُنْيَاهُمْ؟ قَالَ: لَيْسَ لَهُ أَنْ يَشْتَرِطَ مَا يُخَالِفُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، قُلْتُ: فَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ بَعْدَ هَذَا فِي الْكِتَابَةِ؟! قَالَ: إِنَّمَا يَرْغَبُ فِيهَا مَنْ يَبْتَغِي فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا، وَهُوَ أَحَقُّ بِهَا وَأَهْلُهَا، وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى، فَمَكَثَ هُنَيَّةً ثُمَّ قَالَ: عَلَى الْإِمَامِ أَنْ يُنْفِقَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ بَيْتِ الْمَالِ، أَوْ يَجْعَلَ لَهُ جَائِزَةً، إِنْ كَانَ كِتَابُهُ مِمَّا يَنْفَعُ النَّاسَ، ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾[3].
Translation of the saying:
Hasan ibn Muhammad Sadiq al-Isfahani informed us, he said: I asked His Excellency about a man who has knowledge, so he writes a book, is he allowed to sell it to people in order to make a profit on them? He said: “He should not do this unless it is a book that benefits them in their world.” I said: “If it is a book that benefits them in their world, then is he allowed to stipulate that they should conceal it, so they may not sell it or give it away in order to increase his profit in this way?” He said: “He is not allowed to stipulate something that contradicts the Book of God the Exalted, the Majestic.” I said: “Then who will be interested in writing after that?!” He said: “Only one who seeks God’s grace and satisfaction will be interested in it, and he is more deserving of it and one of its people, and what is with God is better and more lasting.” Then he paused for a moment and then said: “It is for the Imam to pay him from the treasury or give him a reward if his book is one of the things that benefit people, ‘for God does not waste the reward of those who do good.’”
5 . أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الشِّيرَازِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَمَّا رُوِيَ عَنْ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ أَنَّ رِبْحَ الْمُؤْمِنِ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ رِبًا، فَقَالَ: لَا أَعْرِفُهُ، إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَحِلُّ لَهُ أَنْ يَرْبَحَ عَلَيْهِ فِيمَا يُعْطِيهِ مِنْ كِتَابٍ أَوْ شَيْءٍ فِيهِ قُرْآنٌ أَوْ سُنَّةٌ، وَلَكِنْ يَسْأَلُ مَا أَنْفَقَ، أَوْ يَحْتَسِبُ.
Translation of the saying:
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shirazi informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about what has been narrated from the Ahl al-Bayt that a believer’s making a profit on another believer is usury, so he said: “It is not so unless it is in knowledge, for it is not permissible for him to make a profit on him through what he gives him of the Book or anything in which there is the Quran or the Sunnah, but he may ask him for what he has or will spend.”
6 . أَخْبَرَنَا ذَاكِرُ بْنُ مَعْرُوفٍ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِلْمَنْصُورِ: رُبَّمَا يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمْ بِبَعْضِ قَوْلِكَ وَلَا يُسْنِدُهُ إِلَيْكَ كَأَنَّهُ شَيْءٌ رَآهُ، فَقَالَ: هُوَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: بَلَغَ جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ أَنَّ رَبِيعَةَ الرَّأْيِ يَقُولُ: مِنْ رَأْيِي أَنَّ الْقُرُوءَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ أَطْهَارٌ، فَقَالَ: «كَذَبَ، مَا هُوَ مِنْ رَأْيِهِ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ شَيْءٌ بَلَغَهُ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ».
Translation of the saying:
Zakir ibn Ma‘roof al-Khorasani informed us, he said: I said to Mansoor: “Perhaps one of them will say something of your sayings and not attribute it to you as if it is his own opinion.” So he said: “He is with God one of the liars.” Then he said: “Ja‘far ibn Muhammad was informed that Rabi‘ah al-Ra‘yi said: ‘In my opinion, the three menstrual cycles in the Book of God refer to the purities.’ So he said: ‘He lied, it is not his opinion but what has reached him from Ali, peace be upon him.’”
Explanation of the saying:
For an explanation of these important and enlightening sayings, refer to Q&A 91.